But at that moment, I had no mind to concern myself with any of it.
All I thought about was how to safeguard my own interests.
The night before I was ready to act, a sudden PR statement, led by Kendrick, was released.
They declared that Ophelia had been Kendrick’s first love from his youth.
The two had been together for over ten years, hidden only for business reasons.
And that I was nothing more than his business partner.
Facing the cameras, Kendrick spoke calmly, “Back then, when Ophelia went abroad to study, we were forced to separate for a time. She cared deeply for her sister and asked me to look after her once she left. It was out of trust and love for Ophelia that I chose Cassidy as my business partner. I hope everyone won’t misunderstand our relationship, nor do anything that would hurt Ophelia.”
He spoke with such sincerity, yet pushed me straight into the heart of the storm.
Overnight, Ophelia’s reputation was restored, and in turn, all the accusations and condemnations crashed down on me.
With just a few vague, incendiary essays twisting the truth, Ophelia made almost everyone believe I was a promiscuous, greedy woman who, while my younger sister studied abroad, seduced her brother-in-law.
My phone nearly exploded with calls. My doorstep was splattered with red paint and littered with dead rats.
In an instant, I was dragged from an envied social elite businesswoman to a shameless homewrecker spat on by all.
Even my parents stepped forward with false testimony; one insisted I had been vicious since childhood, always bullying my sister; the other declared the family had no such shameless daughter and wished to sever ties.
After bearing endless ridicule and curses, I ordered a cup of milk tea and stood before the wide floor-to-ceiling window, watching the unceasing flood of insults surge toward me.
As I was lost in thought, Kendrick knocked on my office door.
His tone was calm, his expression gentle, but in his eyes there lived that same superiority, that same condescension that belonged to Ophelia.
“I didn’t want to do this either, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch them drive Ophelia to death. You’re her sister; you should know her temperament best. A girl spoiled since childhood, who had never suffered the slightest grievance, simply could not bear such online abuse. This time, just consider it something I owed you. When things settle down, I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
Those same words again. Since childhood, I had heard them from my parents countless times. And now, at last, they had come from Kendrick’s mouth.
I gave a cold laugh and calmly poured the unfinished milk tea in my hand over Kendrick’s face.
“No need. We didn’t have a future.”
I called my lawyer and arranged to meet at my home to discuss countermeasures. But when I opened the door, Ophelia swaggered inside. She pressed her cigarette butt onto my wedding photo, smirking with disdain.
“What, no smile now? Weren’t you grinning so smugly in the wedding photo? Why couldn’t you smile now?”
“Cassidy, you really were stupid, actually thinking that stealing Kendrick would let you step on my head. Had you forgotten? Since we were children, there had never been anything I wanted that I couldn’t get!”
I frowned and interrupted, “Did you really like Kendrick?”
Ophelia shrugged, indifferent. “Like it or not, it didn’t matter. As long as it was something you cared about, I couldn’t help but want to take it and destroy it.”
“I just liked seeing you angry and sad, yet helpless!”
I nodded and opened the door, letting Kendrick, who had been following behind me, walk in.
When she saw Kendrick, Ophelia faltered for a moment. But soon after, she composed herself, her lips curling with indifference.
“You think this will scare me? You really underestimated me. Kendrick is nothing more than a dog that comes when I call. No matter what he says with his mouth, as long as I beckon, he’ll still crawl back!”
Ophelia snorted proudly.
But when I took out the second thing, she froze completely.
